Megadromus capito

Megadromus capito
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Adephaga
Family: Carabidae
Subfamily: Pterostichinae
Tribe: Pterostichini
Subtribe: Pterostichina
Genus: Megadromus
Species:
M. capito
Binomial name
Megadromus capito
White, 1846
Synonyms[1]
  • Megadromus aucklandicus (Bates, 1878)
  • Megadromus humeralis (Broun, 1882)
  • Megadromus cephalotes (Broun, 1886)
  • Megadromus hudsoni (Broun, 1904)
  • Megadromus ordinarius (Broun, 1908)

Megadromus capito is a large endemic ground beetle from New Zealand.[2] This beetle hunts on the ground, is active mainly at night and tends to take shelter under debris during the day.[3]

Taxonomy

M. capito was first described by Adam White in 1846.[4]

Description

M. capito is a shiny, black beetle with a thorax cover that can have a greenish appearance. The beetle has horizontal linear groves running the length of its wing covers.[2] They are sexually dimorphic in that the males are significantly larger than the females.[3]

Life cycle

There are three larval instars. M. capito can carry a relatively low number of eggs, with up to 26 being recorded, but on average carry 10.5. They gestate the eggs for at least six months. The females exhibit brooding behaviour where they guard their eggs.[3]

M. capito are regarded as being a long lived species of beetle.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Megadromus (Megadromus) capito (White, 1846)". www.gbif.org. Global Biodiversity Information Network. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Beetle (Ground) Megadromus capito". www.terrain.net.nz. Taranaki Education Resource Research Analysis and Information Network. Archived from the original on 2020-01-19. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d Hutchison, Melissa A. S. (19 February 2010). "Seasonality and life histories of two endemic New Zealand carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae): Mecodema oconnori Broun and Megadromus capito (White)". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 34 (1): 79–89. doi:10.1080/03014220709510066.
  4. ^ White, Adam; Butler, Arthur Gardiner (1846). The zoology of the voyage of the H.M.S. Erebus & Terror, under the command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross - Insects. Vol. 2. London: E. W. Janson. p. 4. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.7364. Retrieved 15 January 2017.